Harry: I believe in miracles
A ruthless 4-0 hammering in the Bernabeu last week left Tottenham facing a huge task to overcome Jose Mourinho’s side and make the Champions League semi-finals. No team in the history of the competition has been able to overturn a four-goal margin from a first-leg defeat, although three teams have managed it in other UEFA tournaments.
Bookmakers rate Spurs’ chances of making the semi-finals as long as 50-1, but Redknapp nonetheless cut a relaxed and optimistic figure yesterday.
“We are in a situation where everyone feels the tie is over but we know we are a good team and can play well here at White Hart Lane,” Redknapp said.
“We know it will take a miracle but miracles can happen and we have to believe that we can give it our best shot tomorrow and if we play very well, you never know what will happen.
“I went last year to see Juventus at Craven Cottage and Fulham were 3-1 down after the first leg and then went 1-0 down on the night early on.
“They came back and won the tie. It was one of the great games I’ve seen and shows that anything is possible. You never know with football.
“We have to turn in a good performance and see if we can win the game and we will see where it takes us from there. We will see how it develops.”
Spurs came back from 3-0 down in the qualifying round against Young Boys to make the group stages and then almost pulled off a similar feat against Inter, where they fell one goal short of a 4-4 draw after Gareth Bale’s superb second-half hat-trick.
The attacking football that Redknapp has employed throughout the competition has endeared the team to many neutrals, but the Tottenham manager admits he may have to rein his team in for the first time tonight, despite the four-goal deficit.
“It’s okay saying you’re going to attack them but you can’t be that open,” Redknapp added.
“You are playing against world-class players. “You have to be controlled and take the chances when they come and give it our best go.”
Mourinho may rest some of the five players he has on yellow cards, but the stellar squad he has at his fingertips means that Real are more than capable of scoring the first goal that would kill the tie.
Redknapp will be forced into a reshuffle up front, with Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko vying to replace the suspended Peter Crouch.
Redknapp would not reveal which striker he would choose to partner Rafael van der Vaart, but did reveal that Aaron Lennon is available after overcoming the illness that prompted his last-minute withdrawal from the first leg.
Mourinho, meanwhile, insists he is happy at Real Madrid and is not looking to return to England this summer.
Despite leading Real to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Mourinho is under pressure at the Bernabeu after his side fell eight points behind bitter rivals Barcelona in La Liga.
The Portuguese also suffered the humiliation of seeing his team go down 5-0 in November’s ‘El Clasico’.
Mourinho enjoyed a hugely successful three-year spell with Chelsea, and has never hidden his desire to return to England.
He has been linked with the managerial post at Manchester City and is viewed by some as the natural successor to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
The 48-year-old admits that he will return to England one day but appears intent on seeing out the rest of his contract with Real Madrid.
“My future is Real Madrid because I have a contract and because it looks like the club is happy with my work,” said Mourinho, who won two league titles with Chelsea.
“My future will be in England, for sure, but my future is after Real Madrid.
“I have a contract for three more seasons and I hope I will do well enough to deserve to continue here.”
Mourinho agrees with Redknapp’s assertion that Spurs can pull off a ‘miracle’.
“Miracles do happen in football,” Mourinho warned. “That’s why I say we have to respect Tottenham and we have to respect football because football sometimes can betray you and you cannot give them the chance of doing that.”
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